This plan was accepted, and the party separated. The next morning the
carriages conveyed them to the Apollo Bunder, and at seven o'clock the
Guardian-Mother was under way. The band was playing on the promenade, and
the party were taking their last view of Bombay and its surroundings.
Captain Sharp and his wife were on board. The three doctors formed a trio
by themselves, and were discussing jungle fever, which existed in the low
lands beyond Byculla.
The sea outside was smooth; and at four o'clock in the afternoon the
steamer was among the Malacca shoals, in the Gulf of Cambay, with a pilot
on board. She soon entered the Tapti River, fifteen miles from its mouth.
The band had scattered after the noonday concert, and the party took the
chairs in Conference Hall.
"I suppose you wish to know something about the places you visit, ladies
and gentlemen," said Lord Tremlyn, rising before them, and bowing at the
applause with which he was heartily greeted. "This is Surat, a hundred and
sixty miles north of Bombay, on the Tapti River, which you may spell with a
double _e_ at the end if you prefer. It has a population of a hundred
and ten thousand. It extends about a mile along this river, with the
government buildings in the centre.
"The streets are well paved, and the houses are packed very closely
together. There are four very handsome Mohammedan mosques here, so our
friend the general will have a place to go to on our Friday.
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